The former Ireland captain Niamh Briggs says the return of Simon Zebo to Munster is an all-around positive for the province.
The Cork native has signed a one-year deal to return to his home team having spent three seasons plying his trade with Racing 92 in Paris.
"It's brilliant, he’s a huge fan favorite It’s a one-year deal so it puts a bit of pressure on him to perform."
"I think after a disappointing finish for Munster, this will definitely give a boost to supporters and those involved."
Munster have been in a rebuilding phase since the World Cup in Japan when Johan Van Graan drafted in Graham Rowntree and Stephen Larkham to fill his backroom team.
With a new focus on every player from one to fifteen being able to play with ball in hand, the early results are promising if not yielding results yet.
Zebo, the all-time try-scoring record holder for Munster will be a welcome addition to the squad, but Briggs feels that he will have to out in an amount of graft to claim his spot in the team. The likes of Matt Gallagher, who signed from Saracens amid their financial fair play woes as well as Mike Haley have made the 15 jersey a more hotly contested spot than in recent years.
Zebo is a player that has something every team needs - "X-Factor". A term that's hard to define, but shows itself in unstructured play when the rule book goes out the window.
"There’s no taking away that this game needs X factor and you need someone that can pull it out of a hat."
"It’s also about whether they can get the best out of him too. Racing were open to the likes of him and Finn Russell going unstructured and a little bit of chaos and it suited him, but can Ireland or Munster do something similar? If that’s the case, he’s one of the best in the world at it."
With a one-year deal, co-funded by Munster and the IRFU, Zebo will not be guaranteed his place until proving his worth to the Irish setup. He has spoken openly about his desire to play in the 2023 World Cup in France and this return will open that door. In recent weeks, the also 31-year-old Peter O' Mahony was handed a new central contract from the IRFU - the key difference that Zebo is a backline player who may not hold his value as the years tick past. Briggs is not sure if age is a factor.
"He’s only 31- he’s probably coming into his prime in terms of his rugby years. He definitely has another three of four ahead of him."
"He’s coming in as a person who’s coming in now a person who’s gone away and he's learned to do new things, new cultures, new values – if he comes back into Munster and brings that with him and brings that leadership role that Munster are crying out for in that back three then that’s only a positive for Munster."
